dom za slonove
by TappinCastlefan
Summary: She can't believe she had just forgotten about them in the haze of closing her mother's case. Post-'Veritas.'


It has been what she anticipates will always be known as the longest week of her life. There had been a brief, fleeting moment of peace – more like a couple hours of peace – but then it all lit up again. Debriefing after debriefing with different departments, lawyers (both her own and otherwise), the endless string of phone calls from news outlets – thankfully all were now being diverted through Castle's publicist – and then the exhaustion.

They had run from the precinct to her father's, spent a good few hours there going through everything with him and celebrating, and she had thought she was fine. But the second they walked through their own front door at the end of that day she melted. Melted into a complete mess. Castle had to lift her off up of the floor, keep her upright through a shower and a meal before finally allowing her to sink into bed.

She didn't move for a day and a half after that.

Since then, she's been running, working on arranging everything she could to do her part in sealing Bracken's fate. Sure, she found the tape, she made the arrest, but it wasn't enough in her eyes, and it wouldn't be until Bracken was either dead or locked in his own private cage in a maximum-security prison ward.

And as if that wasn't enough, she was determined to make their wedding happen without a hitch, and spent every moment not in the precinct finalizing plans and liaising with Castle and practically everyone else involved with the event.

Now, six days after finally arresting her mother's murderer, eliminating the shadow that had been looming over her shoulder for nearly sixteen years, she's sitting, doing nothing, just breathing. Castle took one look at her an hour ago, told her with heartfelt honesty that she looked terrible, promptly handed her a glass of wine and told her to sit, relax, and let him take point on wedding errands for the afternoon.

For some reason…she listened.

But now she's bored. Running full-steam for a week has left her with an unsettling feeling of unrest. How can she just…_sit here_…when there are things to be done? She feels as if every muscle in her body is straining to go, move, _run_. Anything but just…sit here.

The knock at the door makes her jump so that she nearly topples the glass of wine to the floor. (She's hardly touched it, afraid of what the alcohol might do to her already rattled brain.)

She unfolds her legs from where they were tucked underneath her to stand. She's still on-edge, so she reaches for her off-duty piece that has been resting beside the couch and tucks it into the pocket of Castle's sweatshirt (she more or less stole it), as she moves through the loft.

"Sir?" She can't help the questioning reaction as soon as she finds Gates on the other side of the door.

"Good afternoon, Detective Beckett." She nods, "May I come in?"

"Of course!" She shakes her head, feeling slightly ridiculous as she sets the gun back down and follows her Captain to the living room. "Is there…something I can help you with? I was finally starting to think I was done with paperwork for this," she attempts to laugh, but it falls flat.

They both know how much extra time she's put into this case, revisiting everything attached to it and helping comb through evidence three and four times over.

"No, nothing case related this time around." She pauses, looks around the loft with a detective's eye. It's then that Kate realizes that her boss has never seen their home. It gives her an odd feeling – _hosting_ Captain Victoria Gates in the home she shares with Richard Castle.

"Don't worry," she tries to joke, "Castle's not home. Just me." She shrugs.

Gates actually smiles, seemingly a little more relaxed at the unspoken acknowledgement that yes, this is an awkward situation.

"Sit?" Kate motions to the couch, "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'll have what you're having," Gate's nods to the glass of red sitting on the coffee table. "You two have a lovely home," she comments as Kate pours a second glass in the kitchen. "It's very…you."

"Thank you," she smiles, handing over the glass, "It's pretty eclectic, but we like it."

There's a pause as the two settle onto opposite ends of the couch, each taking gentle sips from their glasses. For once, Kate finds herself absolutely lost for words.

"Kate," Gates starts, "I wanted to let you know that I am very proud of the work you've done. Yourself, with your team, and with Mr. Castle."

She's stunned, but somehow manages to find the ability to answer. "Thank you, Sir. I…really appreciate it. And I know that Castle will, too. And Ryan and Esposito. I hope you know that we're all proud to work underneath you, as well."

Gates offers her a thin smile, nods ever so slightly. "That means a lot. I know I haven't always been the…_nicest_ Captain you could ask for, but I'm glad yours is the precinct I landed in."

They both smile, unspoken understanding of the change that has occurred in the past three years, and a sort of gratitude for it.

"I also wanted to acknowledge the great care you took with this case. I only got what was pertinent at the time from Ryan and Esposito but I understand how deeply personal and trying this has been for you – for years. I want to say I wish you had told me sooner, but I understand why you felt you couldn't."

"Sir, we-"

She holds up a hand. "There's no need, Detective. I understand what you were trying to do, and why it was so difficult. It took a lot of bravery to face this with such conviction, and tact despite the challenges. I'm just glad that now we will all be able to put it behind us and move forward. God knows you deserve it."

"Well, thank you. Again, really. I – you don't know how much I appreciate your support."

"Anytime, Kate. But, that's only part of why I'm here. I wanted to bring you something."

Kate lifts an eyebrow, curious as to her Captain's ulterior motives in visiting. She sets her glass back down so that she can better watch as the other woman reaches into her rather large handbag.

"In all the chaos of making the arrest I wasn't able to return this to you," Kate's eyes widen at the sight of her elephants in her Captain's hand. "But then I thought you wouldn't mind waiting until I could have them fixed up."

Kate reaches for the ceramic pachyderms as if in a dream. She can't believe she had just forgotten about them in the haze of closing her mother's case. They were so pertinent, so personal, and she hadn't even noticed that they went missing from her desk almost immediately. She can't help the tears that build in her eyes, though she somehow keeps them from falling. "I – I don't even know how to thank you for this, Sir." She manages.

She runs her finger over each little elephant, gently over the largest, tracing the visible, but minimal line where she had to break it to uncover the tape. Proof that her mother helped to solve her own case – that they did it together. Just like the elephants their family was broken, but still together and strong.

And her Captain was the one to rescue the pieces and have them put back together.

"I know it's not a perfect fix, but it's the best I could do."

"No," Kate argues, insistent, "no. This is perfect. It's more than I could have thought of. Thank you for doing this for me. For…everything."

Gates nods, "Like I said, you deserve it. Now," she smiles, claps her hands together, "catch me up on these wedding plans, you have to just be bursting with excitement, I'm sure."

Kate laughs as she rests the elephants down on the table, safely in the center and out of risk of being bumped off. She is excited. Very excited. And even though it's a little out-of-character, and she _knows_ that Castle's eyes will bug out of his head when he comes home, she's content to settle back into the couch and walk her Captain through the saga of their wedding planning.

She'll have to find another elephant to add to her desk.

* * *

(Because Fau and Morgan gave me the idea and wanted to see some Beckett/Gates time.)

(Also because I first assumed that the elephants broke.)

**_Tappin_**


End file.
